Gaeseong

At a glance

The theme on the map

16 events in this theme

1. AD 901Gung Ye Founds Later Goguryeo

   Gung Ye, who had risen under the warlord Yanggil and taken Gangwon, Gyeonggi and Hwanghae, founded Later Goguryeo at Songak in 901.

2. AD 918Wang Geon Founds Goryeo

   Hong Yu, Bae Hyeon-gyeong, Sin Sung-gyeom and Bok Ji-gyeom overthrew Gung Ye and raised Wang Geon to the throne; he named the state Goryeo with the era name Cheonsu.

3. 1024Byeongnando and Goryeo’s Foreign Trade

   Merchants from Song, the Khitans, the Jurchens, Japan and even Arabia came to Byeongnando at the mouth of the Yeseong River, carrying the name "Corea" to the West.

4. 1055Choe Chung’s Academy and the Rise of Private Schools

   When the retired chief minister Choe Chung opened his Nine-Course Academy, twelve private schools flourished; as state schools declined, later kings revived them.

5. 1126Yi Ja-gyeom’s Rebellion

   Yi Ja-gyeom, King Injong’s maternal grandfather and father-in-law, burned the palace with Cheok Jun-gyeong and held the king captive; Injong won Cheok over and removed Yi.

6. 1170Military Coup of 1170

   Generals including Jeong Jung-bu, Yi Ui-bang and Yi Go, long slighted by civil officials, struck at Bohyeonwon, killing civil officials and deposing King Uijong; military regimes ruled for the next century.

7. 1198Manjeok’s Rebellion

   Manjeok, a slave of Choe Chung-heon, gathered slaves in Gaegyeong to plot their emancipation and seizure of power, but was betrayed.

8. 1270Return of the Capital to Gaegyeong

   Having made peace with the Mongols, Goryeo moved its capital back from Ganghwa to Gaegyeong once the military regime fell, ending a century of military rule and beginning the period of Yuan domination.

9. 1348Ten-story Pagoda of Gyeongcheonsa

   A Yuan-influenced ten-story marble pagoda was erected at Gyeongcheonsa in Gaepung; it inspired the Wongaksa pagoda of early Joseon.

10. 1359 – 1362Red Turban Invasions

    The Red Turbans, Han Chinese rebels against the late Yuan, invaded Goryeo twice; in the second invasion Gaegyeong fell and King Gongmin fled to Bokju (Andong).

11. 1365 – 1374Tombs of King Gongmin and Queen Noguk (Hyeonneung and Jeongneung), Kaesong

    Twin tombs of King Gongmin and Princess Noguk. Gongmin himself built his queen’s tomb, and its zodiac retaining stones and civil and military statues became the model for Joseon royal tombs.

12. 1392Killing of Jeong Mong-ju

    Jeong Mong-ju, leader of the moderate scholar-officials who defended Goryeo against a change of dynasty, was killed at Seonjuk Bridge in Gaegyeong by Yi Bang-won’s men; three months later Yi Seong-gye took the throne.

13. 1392Founding of Joseon

    Yi Seong-gye overthrew Goryeo and founded Joseon, moving the capital to Hanyang in 1394.

14. 1600 – 1863Spread of Rice Transplanting and Rural Markets

    In late Joseon rice transplanting spread nationwide, allowing rice–barley double cropping and large-scale farming; farmers grew cash crops such as ginseng and tobacco, and periodic markets grew to over a thousand.

15. 1953Korean Armistice Agreement

    After more than two years of talks, the armistice was signed at Panmunjom, fixing the Military Demarcation Line and the Demilitarized Zone.

16. 2003 – 2016Kaesong Industrial Complex

    After the June 15 Declaration, an industrial zone combining southern capital and technology with northern land and labour was built at Kaesong.

Key people

• 
  Taejo (Yi Seong-gye)1335 – 1408

  Founder and first king of Joseon, formerly a general who fought Japanese pirates and the Red Turbans

• Gung YeAD 918

  Monk said to be of Silla royal blood who rose under Yanggil, founded Later Goguryeo at Songak in 901 and renamed it Majin and Taebong; styling himself the Maitreya Buddha, he ruled harshly and was overthrown

• Taejo Wang GeonAD 877 – AD 943

  Songak magnate who served Gung Ye, took Naju, overthrew Gung Ye to found Goryeo in 918 and reunified the Later Three Kingdoms in 935–936

• King Gongmin1330 – 1374

  Thirty-first king of Goryeo, who led anti-Yuan reforms, recovered the Ssangseong Commandery and backed Sin Don’s reforms

• 
  Taejong (Yi Bang-won)1367 – 1422

  Third king of Joseon, who seized power in the Strifes of Princes and strengthened royal authority

• Yanggil

  Late Silla strongman of Bugwon (Wonju) under whom Gung Ye rose, and who was later defeated by him

• Sin Sung-gyeomAD 927

  Goryeo founding general who wore Wang Geon's armour at the Battle of Gongsan and died so that his king could escape

• Choe ChungAD 984 – 1068

  Chief minister turned teacher whose Nine-Course Academy led the private schools; called the "Confucius of the East"

• King Munjong1019 – 1083

  Eleventh king of Goryeo, whose reign marked the height of the dynasty; father of Uicheon

• King Yejong1079 – 1122

  Sixteenth king of Goryeo, who sent Yun Gwan to build the Nine Forts and revived state schooling

• Yi Ja-gyeom1126

  Head of the Gyeongwon Yi clan, father-in-law to two kings, who rebelled in 1126 and fell

• Cheok Jun-gyeong1144

  General who joined Yi Ja-gyeom’s revolt, then turned on him at the king’s urging